1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to glass composition for use as a laser medium, a method for producing the glass composition, and a laser apparatus including the glass composition.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional laser apparatus. Referring to FIG. 1, a laser apparatus 100, which is used to emit light for various purposes, typically includes a pumping source 110 for providing energy, a laser medium 120 that receives the energy provided by the pumping source 110, and two reflective elements 130 and 140 to provide feedback of light output from the laser medium. The reflective elements include a fully reflective back mirror 130 and a partially reflective front mirror 140, such that the front mirror 140 transmits a portion of the light through the front mirror as an output of the laser apparatus.
The laser medium 120 may be constructed of various materials, the properties of which affect the operation of the laser apparatus 100, as well as properties of light emitted from the laser apparatus 100, such as bandwidth of the emitted light. Variations in properties of light emitted from the laser apparatus 100, such as a frequency range (i.e., bandwidth), can impact suitability of the use of the emitted light for various specific purposes.
Various fields of science and engineering, in particular, chemistry and telecommunications, require broadband laser sources and optical amplifiers in the form of fibers and waveguides. The Near InfraRed (NIR) spectrum, which ranges from 1100 nm to 1600 nm, is used for wideband operations. Recently, tunable laser action has been achieved using Cr4+ and Cr3+ doped crystals. However, even with these developments, there is still a further need for improved laser medium constructions and compositions in order to produce emitted light even better suited to these and other various purposes.